第5章

“Ifyouwouldleaveyouraddress，“continuedtheofficialwithpersistentpoliteness，“wecouldadviseyouofanylaterdeposittoyourcredit。“ “Itishardlynecessary，“returnedtheyounglady。“Ishouldlearnitmyself，andcallagain。Thankyou。Good-morning。“Andsettlingherveiloverherface，shequietlypassedout。 ThepainandindignationwithwhichRandolphoverheardthiscolloquyhecouldwiththegreatestdifficultyconceal。ForonewildmomenthehadthoughtofcallingherbackwhilehemadeapersonalappealtoRevelstoke；buttheconvictionborneinuponhimbyherresolutebearingthatshewouldrefuseit，andhewouldonlylayhimselfopentoanotherrebuff，heldhimtohisseat。Yethecouldnotentirelyrepresshisyouthfulindignation。 “WhereIcomefrom，“hesaidinanaudiblevoicetohisneighbor，“ayoungladylikethatwouldhavebeensparedthispublicdisappointment。Adozenmenwouldhavemadeupthatsumandlethergowithoutknowinganythingaboutheraccountbeingoverdrawn。“ Andhereallybelievedit。 “Nice，comf’ablewayofdoingbankingbusinessinDutchFlat，“ returnedthecynic。“AndIsupposeyou’dhavekeptitupeverymonth？Ratheratallpricetopayforlookingataprettygirlonceamonth！ButIsupposethey’rescarceruptherethanhere。 Allthesame，itain’ttoolatenow。Startupyoursubscriptionrighthere，sonny，andwe’llallanteup。“ ButRandolph，whoseldomfollowedhisheroicstotheirultimateprosaicconclusions，regrettedhehadspoken，althoughstillunconvinced。Happilyforhistemper，hedidnothearthecommentofthetwotellers。 “Won’tseeHERagain，oldboy，“saidone。 “Ireckonnot，“returnedtheother，“nowthatshe’sbeenchuckedbyherfancyman——untilshegetsanother。Butcheerup；agirllikethatwon’twantfriendslong。“ Itisnotprobablethateitheroftheseyounggentlemenbelievedwhattheysaid，orwouldhavebeenpersonallydisrespectfulorunciviltoanywoman；theywerefairlydecentyoungfellows，buttherigorsofbusinessdemandedthisappearanceofworldlywisdombetweenthemselves。Meantime，foraweekafter，Randolphindulgedinwildfanciesoftakinghisbenefactor’scapitalofseventydollars，addingthirtytoitfromhisownhard-earnedsavings，buyingadraftwithitfromthebankforonehundreddollars，andinsomemysteriouswaygettingittoMissAvondaleasthedelayedremittance。 Thebriefwetwinterwasnearlyspent；thelongdryseasonwasdue，althoughtherewasstilltherarebeautyofcloudsceneryinthesteel-bluesky，andthesuddenreturnofquickbuttransientshowers。ItwasonaSundayofweatherlikethisthatthenature- lovingRandolphextendedhisusualholidayexcursionasfarasContraCostabythesteamerafterhisdutifulroundofthewharvesandshipping。Itwaswithagayetybornequallyofhisyouthandtheweatherthatheovercamehisconstitutionalshyness，andnotonlymingledwithoutrestraintamongthepleasure-seekersthatthrongedthecrowdedboat，but，intheconsciousnessofhisgoodlooksandanewsuitofclothes，evenpenetratedintothearistocraticseclusionofthe“ladies’cabin“——sacredtothefairsexandtheirattendantswainsorchaperones。 Buthefoundeveryseatoccupied，andwasturningaway，whenhesuddenlyrecognizedMissAvondalesittingbesideherlittleescort。 Sheappeared，however，inasomewhatconstrainedattitude，sustainingwithonehandtheboy，whohadclamberedontheseat。 Hewaslookingoutofthecabinwindow，whichshewasalsotryingtodo，withgreaterdifficultyonaccountofherposition。Hecouldseeherprofilepresentedwithsuchmarkedpersistencythathewassatisfiedshehadseenhimandwasavoidinghim。Heturnedandleftthecabin。 Yet，onceonthedeckagain，herepentedhishaste。Perhapsshehadnotactuallyrecognizedhim；perhapsshewishedtoavoidhimonlybecauseshewasinplainerclothes——acircumstancethat，withhisknowledgeofherchangedfortunes，struckhimtotheheart。Itseemedtohimthatevenasahumbleemployeeofthebankhewasinsomewayresponsibleforit，andwonderedifsheassociatedhimwithherhumiliation。Helongedtospeakwithherandassureherofhissympathy，andyethewasequallyconsciousthatshewouldrejectit。 WhentheboatreachedtheAlamedawharfsheslippedawaywiththeotherpassengers。Hewanderedaboutthehotelgardenandthemainstreetinthehopeofmeetingheragain，althoughhewasinstinctivelyconsciousthatshewouldnotfollowthelinesoftheusualSundaysight-seers，buthadherowndestination。HepenetratedthedepthsoftheAlameda，andlosthimselfamongitslow，trailingoaks，tonopurpose。Thehopeofthemorninghaddiedwithinhim；thefireofadventurewasquenched，andwhenthecloudsgatheredwitharisingwindhefeltthatthepromiseofthatdaywasgone。Heturnedtogobacktotheferry，butonconsultinghiswatchhefoundthathehadalreadylostsomuchtimeinhisdeviouswanderingsthathemustruntocatchthelastboat。Thefewdropsthatspatteredthroughthetreespresentlyincreasedtoashower；heputuphisumbrellawithoutlesseninghisspeed，andfinallydashedintothemainstreetasthelastbellwasringing。 Butatthesamemomentaslight，gracefulfigureslippedoutofthewoodsjustaheadofhim，withnootherprotectionfromthepeltingstormthanahandkerchieftiedoverherhat，andranasswiftlytowardthewharf。ItneededonlyoneglanceforRandolphtorecognizeMissAvondale。Themomenthadcome，theopportunitywashere，andthenextinstanthewaspantingatherside，withtheumbrellaoverherhead。 Thegirlliftedherheadquickly，gaveaswiftlookofrecognition，abriefsmileofgratitude，andcontinuedherpace。Shehadnottakenhisarm，buthadgraspedthehandleoftheumbrella，whichlinkedthemtogether。Notawordwasspoken。Twopeoplecannotbeconversationalorsentimentalflyingatthetopoftheirspeedbeneathasingleumbrella，withacrowdofimpatientpassengerswatchingandwaitingforthem。AndIgrievetosaythat，beingahappyAmericancrowd，therewassomeirreverenthumor。“Goit，sis！He’sgainin’onyou！““Keepitup！““Steady，sonny！Don’tprance！““Nofancylicks！Youwerenearlyoverthetracesthattime！““Keepuptothepole！“(i。e。theumbrella)。“Don’tcrowdheroffthetrack！Justswingontogether；you’lldoit。“ Randolphhadglancedquicklyathiscompanion。Shewaslaughing，yetlookingathimshylyasifwonderinghowHEwastakingit。Thepaddlewheelswerebeginningtorevolve。Anotherrush，andtheywereonboardastheplankwasdrawnin。 Buttheywereonlyontheedgeofapackedandseethingcrowd。 Randolphmanaged，however，toforceawayforhertoanangleofthepaddlebox，wheretheywerecomparativelyalonealthoughstillexposedtotherain。Sherecognizedtheirenforcedcompanionshipbydroppinghergraspoftheumbrella，whichshehadhithertobeenholdingoverhimwithasingularkindofmaturesuperiorityverylike——asRandolphfelt——hermannertotheboy。 “Youhaveleftyourlittlefriend？“hesaid，graspingattheideaforaconversationalopening。 “Mylittlecousin？Yes，“shesaid。“Ilefthimwithfriends。I couldnotbeartomakehimrunanyriskinthisweather。But，“shehesitatedhalfapologetically，halfmischievously，“perhapsI hurriedyou。“ “Oh，no，“saidRandolphquickly。“Thisisthelastboat，andI mustbeatthebankto-morrowmorningatnine。“ “AndImustbeattheshopateight，“shesaid。Shedidnotspeakbitterlyorpointedly，noryetwiththeentirefamiliarityofcustom。Henoticedthatherdresswasindeedplainer，andyetsheseemedquiteconcernedoverthewater-soakedstateofthatcheapthinsilkpelerineandmerinoskirt。Abiglumpwasinhisthroat。 “Doyouknow，“hesaiddesperately，yettryingtolaugh，“thatthisisnotthefirsttimeyouhaveseenmedripping？“ “Yes，“shereturned，lookingathiminterestedly；“itwasoutsideofthedruggist’sinMontgomeryStreet，aboutfourmonthsago。Youwerewettertheneventhanyouarenow。“ “Iwashungry，friendless，andpenniless，MissAvondale。“Hehadspokenthusabruptlyinthefainthopethattherevelationmightequalizetheirpresentcondition；butsomehowhisconfession，nowthatitwasuttered，seemedexceedinglyweakandimpotent。Thenheblunderedinadifferentdirection。“YoureyesweretheonlykindonesIhadseensinceIlanded。“Heflushedalittle，feelinghimselfoninsecureground，andendeddesperately:“Why，whenI leftyou，Ithoughtofcommittingsuicide。“ “Oh，dear，notsobadasthat，Ihope！“shesaidquickly，smilingkindly，yetwithacertainairofmaturetoleration，asifshewereaddressingherlittlecousin。“Youonlyfanciedit。Anditisn’tverycomplimentarytomyeyesiftheirkindnessdroveyoutosuchhorridthoughts。Andthenwhathappened？“shepursuedsmilingly。 “Ihadajobtocarryaman’sbag，anditgotmeanight’slodgingandameal，“saidRandolph，almostbrusquely，feelingtheuttercollapseofhisstory。 “Andthen？“shesaidencouragingly。 “Igotasituationatthebank。“ “When？“ “Thenextday，“falteredRandolph，expectingtohearherlaugh。 ButMissAvondaleheavedthefaintestsigh。 “Youareverylucky，“shesaid。 “Notsovery，“returnedRandolphquickly，“forthenexttimeyousawmeyoucutmedead。“ “IbelieveIdid，“shesaidsmilingly。 “Wouldyoumindtellingmewhy？“ “Areyousureyouwon’tbeangry？“ “Imaybepained，“saidRandolphprudently。